I Can't Exist Without You
by notecrafter
Summary: We all have that one person that we would fall apart at the seems without. The ones with the hardest lives to live always get the shortest versions of happiness. Six Cullens, two Hales, one Swan, one Black, and someone without a last name all discover the true meaning of fighting for someone you love, violent or otherwise.
1. Take me With You

**"Bella, as of now, we've only operated on a need-to-know basis. But Bells, I can sense that you're going to leave, and I don't want you to. I know your leaving because it's inevitable either way, but is there a chance that I can come with you?" "Oh Dad" I said as I cried tearless sobs.**

* * *

**Bella's POV**

I was wearing those annoying brown-colored contacts that I had somehow gotten use to over time. There were a lot of other things I had gotten use to after I had Renesmee and was turned into a vampire by my gorgeous god of a husband. Namely, my new diet almost seemed natural. The "head start" my family believed I had had helped tremendously with my control. Having the little ray of sunshine, my daughter, who is currently snuggled up to me on the couch listening to her grandpa, was a blessing in its self.

Something is so important, I catch my breath every time I think about it, and I don't even need to breath. _Edward. _The opportunity to have him right beside me, all night long. Drowning in his love for all eternity. _Eternity. _I grow dizzy when I think about how much of my existence stretches out before me. Years upon years upon years of love and devotion.

Nothing in this world can ever be perfect. You know that, don't you? There were stray ends in my life, people I didn't want to leave behind, people I almost wish I did. My father was one of those people that I just didn't want to leave. For a couple of years, I was thrilled to just have him with me. He took what I gave him, a need-to-know basis that never once lacked love.

Soon, the Cullen's were being noticed as timeless, never aging. Carlisle was a little more suspicious than the breathtaking doctor. Esme was too perfect. I only ever saw my dad and the pack (including Jacob) as did the rest of the Cullen siblings, so we didn't need to worry about anyone noticing. I could still talk to my friends or write letters to them, pretending to be in college.

But I could never show my face directly again to any of my friends from my high school, which wasn't terrible. What was terrible was Edward informing me of my dad's growing suspicion about Renesmee, and me. Always staying perfect, never letting him touch me for too long. Renesmee growing so quickly.

The tell only if asked system we had been using for years now was crumbling down. Charlie could feel the whole entire Cullen family drawing away from the small town of Forks. The fire behind his eyes and burning curiosity in his thoughts (told to me through Edward) confirmed that Charlie needed more.

"Mumm!" My darling daughter called out to me, applying pressure to my right thigh. Her and Charlie had been talking while my thoughts were drifting off. I removed my gaze from the soft jade of the outside forest to the happy grandpa and granddaughter laughing together. I smiles softly. I could hear Edward slowly walking up to us from the kitchen.

"Nessie, would you like to take a walk in the forest with me? We could find some deer to admire if you want to." Edward said to Nessie. Nessie knew that he really ment to go hunt, and that he couldn't say anything around Charlie.

"Ok Dad." Nessie said as she kissed her grandfather on the cheek, bouncing off the leather couch. Edward kissed me on the forehead, chuckling against my skin when Nessie started pulling at his arm.

"See you later, my love. I'll be back before you know it." Edward said to me as he finally gave in to Nessie's persistent tugging. My baby always knew about my difficulty with separation, and luckily, he was the same way. If Nessie wasn't going with him, I knew there was almost nothing on this Earth that could convince him to leave me. Renesmee was our weaknesses, but I'm happy to be weak because of my beautiful daughter any day.

I turned my attention back to my father. His face was lit up with a smile, I could hear Nessie looking back at him just before she and my husband go out the back door. When the door shuts softly, Charlie continues to watch the two through the large windows.

It looked as if the two were gracefully speed walking, I knew there was nothing more Nessie enjoyed then running her father, trying to catch up to him. Edward so being smart, he could probably tell that Charlie was still watching them.

Soon, the pair disappeared into the muted greens and browns of the forest. It was then that I could hear him slouch over, and sigh. I struggled to turn around slowly, knowing a human would never notice the change unless staring right at it. Soon I came face to face with my father. His eyebrows were scrunched together and he was rubbing is temples.

Suddenly, the bags under his eyes became more pronounced. I could hear him inhaling through his nose, exhaling slowly from his lips that were starting to form a smile. I was dying too hug him, or put my hand on his knee, something. But I couldn't. All I wanted to do was take away the pain.

"Dad, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" I ask him, my eyebrows knitting together, mirroring his. He looked up at me, his eyes were shining with tears, I gasped.

"Bella," he breathed out as he sank further into the chair opposite of me. Everything in me wanted to wrap him in my arms, bat away the darkness. After so many years of only chaste hugs, I couldn't ruin it now. Too much was at stake.

"Bella," he continued, tearing at my heart-strings. "Your receding, the whole the family is. I can feel it. All of your friends think you're in college. I know that is impossible right know, but I don't know why. But I've spent countless nights in an empty house, pondering. I can tell it isn't normal. That it's dangerous. That distance is necessary. But do you really need to pull away from _me_? I... I feel like there's a way we can... stay together." Charlie finally gasped out. By the time he finished, his voice was breaking left and right. The words becoming hoarse, but still loaded with meaning.

Charlie crying, speaking for more than five seconds. My wonderful father. Should I tell him? I still feel awful that I have been keeping such a big part of me from my father. Even if he insisted on it. Well now, he's insisting to know more. I don't know if I'm even allowed to. I bit my lip. Suddenly, I can hear Edward and Nessie in the kitchen. I hadn't noticed them before.

"You can tell him, sweetheart." Edward said quietly, too softly spoken for my father to hear. I hesitate slightly, I already knew Edward's feelings about this. He wanted whatever made me happy. Carlisle comes out of his bedroom, stopping quietly at the top of the stairs. He speaks to me, slightly above a whisper.

"We only want what is best for you, Bella. If you leave your father's life, I'm certain he won't have a life without you. If we're careful, which we will be, the choice is yours. We will all support you either way." Carlisle said to me, a tenderness in his voice.

I stopped staring at my hands, no longer needing to conceal the fact that I was listening to something I shouldn't be able to hear. I looked up to the broken man in front of me. I felt with conviction that I need to make him whole again, stop all this wondering.

"Dad, I've been hiding something from you, something big." I tell him, maybe as a prewarning.

"I know, and I don't care. I still love you."


	2. I'm Not Afraid

**Bella's POV**

I feel weak. My father sitting in front of me, with such devotion in his eyes it makes my heart melt and break, all at the same time. Most of all, I'm scared. If I tell him, the Volturi will have all the more reason to stop for a visit. I can't have that. If I tell my father, he then will be forced to go through pain. A continued pain that stops, replaced with a burning, a need, that consumes you.

Charlie won't have it easy. Of that I am sure of. There will be no other me.

"Dad..." I clear my throat. _I can't do this... I have to do this... I want to do this... _I take a deep breath. "Once I tell you, there's no going back. This secret its-" my voice breaks and I have to pause in order to continue without breaking down. "...it's dangerous, dad. I don't want you to get hurt." I tell him as I plead with him with my eyes.

"Bella, I'll be hurting more if you leave me." He tells me. This is the one thing I don't have anything to say to. I would be hurting too if I had to leave him. I nod in acceptance. _ How am I suppose to do this? Where do I start? _I asked my self, panicking. I take a deep breath and struggle to let my shield drop.

_Edward, I need you. Support me. But don't say anything. Don't bring Nessie. Have her hang out with Alice. They can do makeup or whatever. _I tell him. My shield springs back into a place. Nessie walks in and kisses me on the cheek and goes up stairs to knock on Alice's door. Edward walked in with a comforting smile soothing me for a moment.

He sat beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist. I sink into his body, drawing his strength in for myself. I struggled, but I finally met Charlie eyes. The powerful gaze he gave me made my eyes burn with its intensity. Suddenly, my contacts were irritating me. I took them out, or what was left of them. Charlie gasped. I handed Edward the contacts.

"Show him." I whisper to him, Edward gets the hint and flashes to the garbage and back in not even a second. Even though I could see him perfectly clear, I could tell it was blurred and unsure for my father. I flashed to the window. My dad was staring at me.

I was facing the deep green of the forest, pressing my head lightly to the window. I wish it was warm instead of cold, but I couldn't help my icy skin.

"I don't know where to start, dad." I tell the window, my breath fogs the window, blocking my view of the forest.

"Start from the beginning." Charlie tells me, I can tell he's hesitant but still determined.

"Don't hate me." I whisper quietly to myself. I can feel Edward shift on the couch, he had heard me.

"The beginning was Edward, it was the Cullens actually. It was what they were, the secret they held, and in time, the secret they gave to me. I never told because you would be in danger. The Cullens are different from you dad. I'm-" my voice broke as I struggled to get it out. "-I'm different from you!" I shouted in a broken voice, spinning around to my father.

I ran up to my father, got down to my knees in front of him.

"Your own daughter, different in the most extreme. Dad, me, Edward, Alice, everyone in this house, including Nessie, we're all-" my voice broke again. My body was wracked with tearless sobs of pain. Edward's eyes were burning into me, he was tensing, he wanted to hold me, to stop my tears. I looked at Edward and shook my head slightly, I needed to tell Charlie myself.

"All of us aren't... human." I told him, my voice warped with my sobs. Everything came rushing out. Pretenses went out the window.

"Edward and his whole family were vampires. Unlike other vampires who drank human blood," I shuddered at what that thought suggested. "Edward's family drinks animal blood, part of the reason why their house is backed up by woods. Edward says my blood use to sing to him like no other human's, and while he was resisting pouncing on me in the middle of biology class, he fell in love with me." I said. I decided telling Charlie about James, Laurent, and Victoria would have to wait. I also decided I didn't want to relive Edward leaving me.

"I wanted him to turn me into a vampire, and we finally settled on the agreement that once I was finished with highschool we would get married, and only then would he turn me. While we were on our honeymoon, I got pregnant with Nessie." I told him.

"The Volturi are the oldest vampires in existence. They live in a city in Italy. They're practically the leaders of the vampires. We had met them before, and they didn't like that I was still human. A human shouldn't know the dangerous secrets about vampires, it could destroy everything. They were going to check up on me, they didn't want me to be still a human."

"When I had Nessie, I was still human. Nessie is actually half vampire, half human. Slowly, she was killing me with her vampire strength. I grew weaker and weaker, my body was refusing all types of nutrients. Until Carlisle made the discovery that I grew stronger when I drank blood." I was staring at my hands, sitting on the floor at this point.

"Nessie was..." I almost couldn't continue. I wanted to ask Edward to say this part for me, but I knew it hurt him more than it hurt me.

"Nessie was breaking all the bones in my body, Jacob was trying to keep my heart beat going. Nessie broke my spine, and since I couldn't feel anything anymore, Edward surgically removed her from me. I held Renesmee, and she bit me. It was then that Edward gave Nessie to Rosalie and put a needle into my heart. It contained his venom."

"Vampires have venom coating their teeth and mixed in with their saliva. The venom spreads through the body, turning the skin hard and cold, stopping the heart. Vampires don't even need to breathe. Edward bit all over my body, spreading the venom as fast as he could. Eventually, I felt the pain of changing. I awoke and all was happy, for a little while at least."

"The Volturi, coming to check on me, found Nessie. Nessie has a light, fast heart beat, she can eat regular food, though she prefers to hunt. The Volturi had believed she was an immortal child. Those are vampires who were turned as children. They were reckless and had no thought other than to feed. The Volturi had banned them."

"Carlisle had gathered other vampires who were his friends, and we faced off against them. We were able to convince the Volturi that she was different. After Nessie was born, Alice and Jasper had disappeared. They had found a boy like Nessie, as well as his aunt who told the Volturi and us that Nessie would grow quickly until she reached the age of seven, which she would then be full-grown. Nessie has only a couple of months of growing left."

"The Volturi left us." I said wrapping up, one detail that I hadn't said that seemed so crucial now.

"Bella, the Volturi didn't leave us because we _reasoned with them. _Stop being modest." Edward scolded me. I glanced at him, carefully avoiding Charlie's gaze.

"Fine, then you can tell him." I snapped at him, this conversation was mentally exhausting. I laid down on the other couch, listening to Edward explain the concept of a vampire having powers, and all of ours. He also gave Charlie more detail about the Volturi.

Just as I was feeling guilty of only mentioning the wolf that was my sunshine once, that same person walked in the front door. I had heard his footsteps one hundred steps back, and Edward could probably hear his thoughts even before that.

"Hey Nessie!" Jacob boomed up the stairs. Nessie came out of Alice's room.

"Jacob!" Nessie hissed. "Bella is telling Charlie, would you please be a little quieter?" Nessie commanded. Jacob turned his head to us in the living room, his eyebrows shooting up and his mouth forming a perfect o.

"Are you a-" Charlie said, struggling to get out the word "-vampire too, Jacob?" He asks. Jacob's eyebrows pop up even farther, and he has the decency to not look disgusted. Jacob shakes his head silently, lowering one eyebrow and cocking the other one at me. I shrug my shoulders.

"Can you tell him about the pack Jacob?" I plead him. His expression looks pained.

"Please!" I beg him. He sighs and nods his head. Edward walks over to the couch I'm sitting on and puts my head in his lap. He plays with my hair absently. I listen to Jacob's warm voice explain shifting and imprinting, and everything else.

As Jacob finally ends his tale, I look over. Jacob and Charlie are sitting with their elbows on their knees, their fingers laced together, with their bodies angled towards each other. Dad shifts his body until he's looking down at me in Edward's lap. I sit up and his eyes follow my movements.

I had avoided looking at my father this whole time, afraid of what I what find in his face. What I found now surprised me. Of course there was shock, but it was dim. What I saw the most was a look of thoughtfulness. An acceptance of what once seemed outrageous. I have to know.

**Charlie's POV**

"Aren't you afraid dad?" Bella asks me.

"This is you, Bells, how can be afraid? I'm not afraid." I answer her. I never said anything with as much truth and conviction. I feel it with every hair on my body, I love my daughter no matter what.

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**A/N: Whew! I almost summarized the whole book! Tell me if I missed anything important. Wow, that was a long one. Bella was suppose to seem like she back tracking constantly because she was nervous about telling Charlie. Just to clear that up. Tell me how I did, I read every review!**


	3. Procrastinating

**Charlie's POV**

My beautiful Bella.

"I don't know if I can let you go through that dad!" Bella shouted, agitated. Jacob silently left the room, walking smoothly upstairs. He's a wolf, apparently. I turned to my daughter, who should be red-faced and crying, but looks perfectly breathtaking, because she's a vampire.

She popped out of Edward's lap, swinging her feet gracefully to the ground in a blur of motion, because she's a vampire. Her knees bounced as she kneaded her scalp with her fingers, close to hyperventilating. Edward's eyebrows knitted together, rubbing her lower back to try to calm her down.

"There's no other way for him, Bella. If there was, we'd be doing it right now." Edward told her gently.

"I know!" Bella snapped at him. His eyebrows rose but he said nothing, keeping his lips pressed tightly together.

"I'm sorry baby. I really need to hunt." Bella exhaled. She means go into the woods and suck on mountain lions, draining them of their blood. No more nights at the dinner. I swallowed heavily as Bella started to get up.

"Now?" Edward asked, standing up with her.

"Yeah, and you don't have to go. You just went today." Bella tells him. Edward shakes his head.

"I want to go alone. I need some time to think by myself okay?" Bella tells him. Edward's lips droop down in a frown. I see Bella close her eyes and Edward's eyes cloud over. I get the feeling Bella is dropping her shield thing so Edward can use his power thing to read her mind. My head spins at that thought.

Edward shrugs his shoulders and then nods, relaxing. Bella glides out of the room. Edward sits down heavily on the couch, his features pinched. He's looking out the window at Bella running swiftly into the forest. He looks like he never left her side in years. For all I know he hasn't.

He turns towards me long after I lose sight of Bella, but he could probably still see her since he's a vampire. He looks at me, his eyes unclear and pained.

"I know this is a lot to take in." He tells me in a serious voice. _Well yeah, learning that Italian tyrants, vampires, and wolves have coexisted in the world that you had lived in for forty some odd years can be a little overwhelming._ Edward nods.

"Yeah, it is kind of crazy how much of the world we don't know about." He tells me. _Was he reading my mind?! _Edward nods at me again.

"If you don't mind, can you not do that until I'm a little less freaked out!" I exclaim to him, completely bothered by my lack of privacy. Edward rushes to try and make it up to me.

"I'm sorry Charlie, I won't say anything, and I can ignore your thoughts if you want." He hurriedly tells me.

"Please! Do that for the time being at least." I instruct him, still feeling grouchy.

**Bella's POV**

I sat half way up in a pine tree, full from the three mountain lions I just drank dry. It's peaceful up here, with only a slight breeze making my hair swish around me. I can finally think. I've made a decision and I told my father the big secret. I don't necessarily regret that. I regret when the time will arrive to turn him into something, just so he's safe. It doesn't seem right. I wish I could have been strong and let him go, so he could have a normal life. I'm starting to sound like Edward.

I take comfort in the fact that now that I've blabbed, the result is out of my control. If I don't turn my father into a vampire, the Volturi will find him no matter what. I already told him. What's done is done. No going back. Thought it's unlikely the Volturi will find out tomorrow. Or even next week. I can still have my dad as a human for just a little bit longer.

All of his human faults, they make him wonderful. After he's a vampire, he'll have to let go of everything. Mom will only hear our voices on the phone for a while. I can't suddenly explain everything to my father, and then thrust him into a different person all in the same day. The same week doesn't sound so bad, though.

I'll wait for seven days. Carlisle will change him. I lightly hop down from the branches, even though I feel light-headed. I miss Edward. We don't like being apart from each other, and I feel like I just cheated him by going hunting without him. So I run swiftly to the house, my ballet shoes somehow gripping rocks and leaves like it's nothing.

Sometimes it still shocks me when I can run down the stairs faster than lightning and not even stumble. I reach the backyard and relief floods through me. I can see Edward, he snaps his head up, hearing my quiet foot falls. His eyes find mine, and I can't help but smile.

He smiles sweetly at me. I walk into the living room.

"Where's Charlie?" I ask Edward, as I notice the empty coach and the scent of his cologne fading away.

"He wanted to go home, think over some things. He told me to tell you that he loved you, and that he always did." Edward told me. I let him sweep me into his arms, pushing my face into his chest.

"Edward! I wish it didn't have to be like this!" I told him, shivering even though I wasn't cold. Is it too much to ask to be happy?

**Edward's POV**

My darling, sweet Bella. The world we live in is a cruel one. The best of us, have it the worst. The worst of us, have it the best. We sit together on the couch where Charlie sat only an hour ago. Bella is shaking, murmuring over and over how she just wanted it to be over. She lifted her head off of me a little bit, speaking to my neck.

"Sometimes, when I'm surrounded by good, I strain to find that one little piece of bad. I'm a horrible person. I want what I can't have: perfection. I want everything to be as flawless as my skin. I've stared and stared at my arm for more hours than I care to count. Not. One. Flaw. Yet my life itself, it's riddled with dents and places where it hurts to look." She tells me, her eyes the saddest shade of brown.

"It's not fare to know perfection, but have it where it counts the least. I'd be ugly if it meant the people I love got to be with me until the day they died. It's worth so much more." She tells me, my breath escaping me slowly.

She meets my eyes with a look of disappointment in herself. Like she isn't good enough for me. If anything, it's the other way around. I've told her countless times, that she's the most beautiful creature, someone that's life is intertwined with mine. Two strings spun together so much you can never untangle them, no matter how hard you tried. Cut one, and you cut both.

"Your beautiful Bella, not just your face, but your heart. You've got a beautiful soul." I tell her.

"Didn't you use to say we didn't have souls anymore? Plus, my hearts not beating anymore." She tells me.

"You're still you. Your eyes may change color, but they've always had the same expression in them: compassion, beauty, intelligence, love." I breath out. I'm losing my breath at the heart-stopping smile she's giving me.

She leans in to kiss me.

**Bella's POV**

"No! No! Not now! Why?!" We hear Alice scream from upstairs. In an instant, Carlisle and Esme are next us, Emmet, Rosalie, Jacob and Nessie are by Alice and Jasper.

"Nessie, Jacob, stay here. Everybody else, we need to go! Like now!" Alice says as she runs gracefully down the stairs, Jasper, Emmet, and Rosalie following closely behind. Esme and Carlisle are behind us, and we meet outside.

"Nessie and Jacob are trying to come with us." Edward whispers to me. I turn to see Nessie and Jacob trying to reach us. I run back, furious.

"Renesmee! Jacob! Get back in that house right now! You are not to leave! Don't get any ideas! Whatever is going on is serious! Just stay!" I yell at them, my eyes burning. Nessie heads meekly back inside while Jacob struggles to contain his glare.

"Jacob, I'm not messing around. Don't get any ideas." I hiss at him as they both head inside. I run as fast as I can to catch up with everyone.

"Tell me if they get close." I whisper to Edward. He nods at me. We all run, following Alice down the slightly raining highway. It starts to sink in that I have no idea what's going on. It looks like no one knows either, except Alice. What would be so important that telling us would waste time?

Alice starts to slow down, reaching a wrecked car, that ran into a tree. My breath leaves me, the only person I know that would drive a truck in Forks that isn't here with me is... I smell blood, and my throat starts to burn. _Oh no..._

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**A/N: I thought Charlie would be the kind of person who would keep repeating something to himself until they finally made sense of it. Sorry he was stating the obvious so often. Do you like my Charlie POV? Be honest with me please. Can you believe it guys? My first good cliff hanger! I feel so proud. Okay. Sorry. So review! I read every one! Do it! Thank you!**


	4. Thirsty

**Alice's POV**

I almost wish my prediction wasn't right. Charlie's car is wrecked, his haggard breaths loud, echoing in my ears. I haven't gone hunting in a couple of days so I diligently hold my breath and maintain a safe distance.

Carlisle approaches Charlie's smoking car with the ease of decades of practice. Carlisle pulls the door open and gently lays Charlie on the ground. I glance at Bella, and her inner torment makes my chest heave with sympathy. She's caught between love, and thirst. Edward holds her stationary, holding his breath.

I would tell Bella to hold her breath, but I can see that each time she tries to, her violent wailing sobs cause her to suck in air.

"He's losing blood too fast. He won't make it to the hospital." Carlisle shouts at us. I can see a deep gash on his forehead and can sense the bruising all over his body from the way Carlisle is handling him so gently. The solution is clear to everyone. It was going to happen anyways.

I watch as at first Bella's eyes look desperate, then for one moment look hopeful, and then look devastated, crushed by the hairpin turn of events. She was going to wait, and now the ability to make the decision is brutally ripped out of her hands.

"Do it already." Bella says in a hoarse voice. She's shivering now, sobbing silently, her shoulders heaving.

**Bella's POV**

I don't notice the blood anymore, so great is the sadness the pulls at me. My only comfort is that he agreed to this before hand. I can't watch as Carlisle gives Charlie his venom. I see out of the corner of my eye that Carlisle picks up Charlie gently.

I crush Edward's hands to my ears, trying to drown out the horrible cries of pain coming from my beloved father. We start running towards the house. I fly over the ground with my eyes shut tight, refusing to believe reality. Edward guides me quietly until we reach the house. Jacob and Nessie are standing at the doorway, looks of shock plastered on their faces.

Esme runs up to them. "Both of you, stay in La Push for five days. When the five days are up, Charlie should be changed but you have to be cautious, we don't know how great his control will be." Nessie runs swiftly up the stairs, getting her stuff.

She passes Carlisle with whimpering Charlie in his arms when she goes down the stairs. "I love you both." Her voice shaking, tears running down her face.

"I love you too Renesmee." Carlisle tells her as he kisses her forehead.

Nessie hugs Edward tightly. "Grandpa Charlie is going to be okay." Nessie says in a firm voice to me. She puts her hand to my cheek and I see Charlie as a vampire smiling happily. I close my eyes and hug my daughter.

"Take care baby." I instruct her as she runs to Jacob's car.

We bring Charlie upstairs to one of the empty bedrooms, just like they did for me when I was changing.

**Charlie's POV **

I was relieved when Carlisle finally turned me, but I quickly went back on my decision about being happy about this. My thoughts muddled into an unrecognizable blur, my surroundings all but forgotten. The only thing I knew was pain. An endless ocean of it, stretching on for miles with no judgment of time.

As the seconds, minutes, or hours -I'm really not sure which- dragged on, I was able to make sense of the pain. The pain of changing. For one fleeting moment, I felt a soft surge of joy in my heart, but the feeling was weak compared to the fire in my chest.

The burning, intense fire was relentless and held no mercy. It pounded and pounded against me until my resolve was in pieces and I was down on my knees. When I felt the blissful coolness of my fingers, I about sung with joy inside my head.

**Edward's POV **

"But he's awake Edward!" Bella said as she started heading towards the stairs.

"He needs time to adjust. Just a couple of minutes, Bella."

"I don't care" Bella huffed "I want to see my father!" I shake my head, my face turning hard, there's no way I'm going to budge.

I watch as Bella bounces her knees on the couch, her head angled towards the stairs. We can hear Carlisle talking to Charlie quietly. Bella is grounding her teeth together, giving me desperate glances.

Carlisle is thinking about bringing Charlie downstairs, and we hear footsteps going down the hallway. Suddenly, we hear running footsteps as Charlie flashes downstairs, smiling with his new-found speed.

"Dad! How do you feel?"

"I'm fine Bella. Other than this crazy burning in my throat. Does that mean I'm..." Charlie swallowed heavily "...thirsty?" Bella nods her head slowly.

**Bella's POV**

"Would you like to... go hunting with me, dad?" I ask Charlie hesitantly.

"Yes, Bella." Charlie answered just as hesitantly. Just like that, Charlie was new and awkward, in a good way.

Edward and Carlisle follow silently behind my father and I, unspoken, but still agreed upon, company. We walked together awkwardly, Charlie's pace slightly faster, as he was unable to adjust to his new abilities. His red eyes flashed everywhere, taking everything in, no doubt relishing the clarity.

Suddenly, the smell of a male mountain lion traveled on the wind. I froze, unsure of how Charlie would take to this. He froze as well, but he was confused. Finally, the wind blew just a little bit harder, and suddenly he was unrecognizable.

Sweeping lightly into a crouch, his eyes intense on the direction the smell was coming from. He was off like a flash, I could hear him catching up to the lion. Another lion, its mate, came bounding in, confused.

I jumped at the female lion, sucking her dry. I saw another male running towards me, and I could hear Edward behind me. I stepped quickly to the side, the lion running straight into Edward. When he finished the lion, after his eyes cleared of thirst, he looked at me.

Edward walked toward me, "thank you."

I smiled and shrugged the shoulders. "Anytime, Edward."

Charlie pounced on three more lions, Carlisle even farther away, finishing two. Edward and I each had one more, and we grouped back together in a field. Suddenly, fuzzy human memories were written everywhere.

"Edward... Is this our field?" He nodded, answering my question with a smile. He kissed my cheek, sliding his head over and nuzzling his nose in my hair.

The walk back to the house was slow, Charlie was looking at everything with a high intensity. His world was born new again. I smiled. Maybe Charlie crashing his car was for the best.

The wishful, never satisfied side of me thought it would have been better for Charlie to change with all of us attentive only to him, but I rarely let my picky side effect me.

I just wish Nessie was here, and okay, Jacob too.

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**A/N: Did you like how it planned out? I take any kind of reviews, and I'm all for constructive criticism. Don't be shy! Don't worry, either, I have more in store for this story. Yay!**


	5. Maturing Soundlessly

**Charlie's POV**

"So neither Jacob nor Renesmee will freak out when they see me?" I ask Bella as we're sitting down, trying to hear them anywhere in the house with my new hearing skills.

Bella nods before talking softly, cringing. "They're on the Rez, we didn't know how well you would take to blood and restraining yourself." I feel myself cringe too, trying to be understanding.

"So I can't see my granddaughter in my new eyes?" I ask, my voice sounding overly disappointed, despite my best intentions. Bella shakes her head slowly, curling into Edward on the couch for comfort. He holds her tightly as he gives me a hesitant smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"I'm so sorry..." Bella whispers brokenly into Edward's chest. My heart breaks as I see her shoulders shake from her silent sobs, and I can hear each ragged breath in annoying, meticulous detail.

"Bella, there is no need to apologize. I always loved you and I don't regret my decision to say 'yes' for one minute. I love you no matter what you are, no matter what I am. All that matters is that we're together." I tell her sternly. She pulls out of Edward's embrace and I spread my arms wide for her. I hug her to me, as she buries her face in my shoulder. We've never hugged like this before, yet I don't feel uncomfortable at all.

"Dad!" Bella asks, her voice raspy and strained. I hold her tighter, trying to make her feel better with my hug. Edward's eyebrows lift up as his mouth forms into an 'o'.

"You're holding her too tight." He informs me, and I can tell he's angry at me even though he knew I had no idea. I lighten up my grip on Bella considerably, feeling miserable and frowning deeply. Bella looks at me, shaking her head and managing a small smile.

"Dad, it's fine. You didn't break anything." she reassured me as she kisses me on the cheek and moves to sit next to me. My eyes are still cast to the floor in shame, _I don't even know my own strength... _

**Bella's POV**

"We will let you see Nessie and Jacob as soon as you feel you have more control." I inform him as I sit next to him in the spacious yet ill-used living room. The Cullens are more family room people.

"You don't feel in control quite yet, right?" Edward asks from the chair across from us, and Charlie shakes his head.

"Hunting more often and hunting right before you try and see them will help a lot." Edward side wisely as he subtly gestures for me to sit with him. I roll my eyes and smile, sitting on the arm of the chair, his left hand resting on my lower back.

"Can I call her?" Charlie asks hopefully, and I can't help but nod vigorously and smile even wider.

"Of course, Dad. There's nothing dangerous about that." I tell him as I gesture towards the phone on the coffee table. Charlie disappears with it into the kitchen as Edward pulls me roughly into his lap as he sucks on my neck.

"Edward, my dad is in the other room!" I whisper breathily as I try to move. I went back to being the weaker one and the slower one years ago, when the newborn energy wore off. He only used his superiority to his advantage when I didn't mind. Which he knew would only happen in the bedroom (wink, wink). He sighed over dramatically, his adorable face pouting as we moved to the couch and tried to ignore Charlie's end of the phone we could hear rather clearly.

**Charlie's POV**

"Nessie! How's my baby girl?" I ask her as she picks up.

"Good, how are you doing?" She asks, her voice tense.

"I'm wonderful, but you understand why I can't see you quite yet."

"Yeah." She sounded sad, but she didn't sound like she was regretting anything or that it felt weird to her.

"Who ya talkin' to?" I hear someone mumble. There's the sound of rustling and movement.

"Jacob! I'm talking to my _grandfather_!" Nessie tells him, a little breathless. This is so awkward.

"Oh." He says, sounding pretty embarrassed.

"Hi Mr. Swan." He says loudly.

"Jacob, you don't have to call me Mr. Swan just because you're dating Renesmee. You called me Charlie when you clearly like Bella." I inform him.

"I know Charlie. It's just that Nessie is so different."

"I know, imprinting and whatever." A really awkward silence follows as I imagine them letting the whole thing about me knowing finally sink in. In turn, I imagine them in Jacob's room, alone. So I freak out internally.

**Nessie's POV:**

"Can I talk to mom and dad?" I ask grandpa.

"Yeah" I hear rustling as the phone is turned over. Jacob is staring at me with that you're-my-soul-mate look, so I spread my hand out and push him, smushing his face with my hand. He falls off the bed only because he was so relaxed around me so he didn't use his strength, and I definitely used mine, just to see his face as he fell backwards. I laugh and roll my eyes at his ridiculousness.

"Nessie." My mom says on the phone just as Jacob wraps his arms around me.

"Sweet heart." My dad says, sounding like they were on speaker phone.

"Hey guys. So grandpa is holding up good?" I ask while smiling, fairly certain that I didn't hear anyone else in the room with them.

"He's good. Better than we thought. You can come home in a week at most." My mom tells me, and I nod my head even though she can't see me.

"Great! So I forgot a few things, do you think you could get them for me?" I ask.

My dad answers. "I can do it sweety."

"Thanks dad, but I would prefer that mom would do it." I tell him as gently as I could.

"Why?"

"Well would you like to sort through all my _delicates_?"

"Uhhh..."

"Nessie, you should see your father right now." My mom laughs, "he looks so weirded out." She laughs again as dad mumbles something I couldn't hear. All the while, Jacob is behind me, coughing pretty dramatically. I turn back to him to see that he's blushing. I'm stuck between rolling my eyes at him or blushing myself, so I just give him a really weird look before wrapping it up with my parents.

"Okay, I'll tell you what I need."

**Bella's POV**

Nessie instructs me on all the things she needs, and I'm silently grateful that all of her clothes were modest and exactly like what she would wear around the house. I can imagine the Jacob will sleep on the couch, but I know how silent Jacob can be, and how deaf his dad can be. I just hope Nessie uses some of her wisdom to make the right choice. I guess it's out of my hands.

I sigh as Edward turns towards me, we're snuggling in front of the fire place, the glowing embers causing shadows to fall all over his face in strange angles. His eyes are a rich golden, while mine are probably a little darker since I've been a vampire less.

"What's wrong?" He asks me as he peppers kisses all over my face.

"Nothing, it's just that I keep thinking about Nessie and Jacob and how they'll be completely alone for a whole week." I huff out.

Edward pulls his lips back from my jaw, "they have Billy." he says as his eyebrows draw together.

"I know, it's just he's, and they're..." I say, feeling a little uncomfortable stereotyping them.

"We'll just have to deal and trust her." He shrugs.

"I trust her, I just don't trust Jacob sometimes. She's his imprint or whatever, the feelings must be intense." I start pouting subconsciously. Edward's lips trace up and down my neck lightly.

"Let's worry about it later. Right now, I have some very important feelings I need to address." He tells me as he kisses me in earnest, and I decide to forget about it for a little while.

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**A/N: I feel like I'm being a paranoid, everything I write I think that it's moving too fast. Well that's a first. I hope I'm wrong. I love reviews like Edward loves Bella! Constructive criticism and happy pep talks alike! So review, review, review! Signing off! Oh and don't worry, just when you think this story is getting boring, something new pops up (hint, hint).**


	6. Adjusting

**Nessie's POV**

Getting to see my grandfather again was a tense affair, with everyone in the room staring at grandpa like hawks stare at their prey. Needless to say, he was extremely uncomfortable, and that's not even mentioning the stress he had at "restraining himself". Honestly, it scared me a little bit, I could never imagine my sweet grandma ever hurting me. I saw the fear in his eyes though, every bit of this was as real as can be. I tried to act like everything was fine and we were just hanging out as a family, but it's hard to laugh and smile when everyone looks like they're at a funeral.

I'm use to being the most bubbly person in the room, but this is insane. Even so, everyone, including me, was more subdued and well, tense. It wasn't like this when mom was seeing grandpa like grandpa was seeing me, because her control was said to be amazing according to my dad, although it was said to be mediocre by my mom. Grandpa's control was okay, but he wasn't the one who knew what he was up against for months, he only just found out a week ago.

The pressure must be insane.

**Bella's POV**

It almost hurt to see Charlie in pain like that. My dad was tense and careful to the point of obsession. We practiced on the blood we had in the fridges in the basement, at his insistence of course. Whenever someone mentioned the consequences of rushing into this, he looked terrified, like he would die too if Nessie came anything close to it because of him.

Of course, like the beautiful person she is, Nessie tried to be all relaxed. It sort of worked. No matter how tense both of them were or how hard my dad was trying, nothing could mask the happiness that they felt to be with each other. Jacob was in the the kitchen the whole time, far away so he wouldn't over load Charlie, but close enough to Nessie so he could protect her. Like eight vampires wouldn't be enough to stop one vampire and protect one half vampire.

It's hard to understand Jacob and Nessie, how they work with the imprint and sometimes against it. Mention anything even closely related to an "adult relationship" between Jacob and Nessie and Edward goes berserk, and then I throw up.

Even though Nessie has the body of an 18-year-old and Jacob the body of a 25-year-old, they're still watched constantly like kids in middle school. Jacob is frustrated, but still understanding, and Nessie is just thinks it is "completely unnecessary".

Eventually, Nessie and Jacob leave, Edward calling Billy before they got back. He was shouting at the poor man, so set that they needed to sleep in separate beds, it took him forever for him to calm down, but I managed to ease him into a "there's nothing I can do about it" state.

**Edward's POV**

Charlie quickly grew accustomed to being a vampire, always the smooth adjuster. It had been a month now, Nessie happily coming back to the cottage long-term, as Charlie moved into the house in a guest room two doors down from Carlisle and Esme. My parents had taken to hanging out with Charlie, now that he had "retired" from law enforcement. He always looked like he was missing a purpose, like he was waiting to stumble upon something to fill his lonely hours.

Everyone took pity on him, except Bella of course. She always believed in helping people not because you pitied them, but because it made you want to feel good after doing a favor like hanging out with them.

Charlie had learned to control his strength faster than he learned to feel comfortable about hunting. Usually, he hunted with Carlisle or Bella, and he wouldn't let Nessie even have a glimpse of him hunting. I could understand where he was coming from with that, it would be weird to do in front of your granddaughter.

No matter who Charlie was hunting with, he still felt uncomfortable doing in front of people. So we let him hunt alone for the first time, thinking there would be no harm in it. _Yeah right. _

**Bella's POV**

Edward and I were in our little cottage, Jacob and Nessie playing chess or some sort of board game with the rest of the Cullens as well as Charlie. We were wrapped up in each others arms, one of our favorite past times (all long with spending absurd amounts of time with our daughter to insure she had no life just to see her whine adorably and then let her go out anyways) when Alice came running, only slowing down slightly before running into the bedroom. Now me, I've always felt weird without bed sheets, even if it was just Edward, so Alice didn't see much. If she even cared.

"Sorry, but Charlie's future has disappeared!" she rushes out, frightened for my sake. I start changing rapidly, throwing Edward his clothes as he bolted to the bathroom.

"This can't be happening. So, what are the options again?" I ask Alice as I throw on my shoes, on the wrong feet of course.

"It can either be Nessie, which it isn't because she's right outside, or it could be the wolves, or..."

"Alice, it's not that!" I tell her, horrified that the thought could even cross her mind.

"Well, he did go hunting alone, for the first time..."

"Alice, stop just tell us where you feel the absence and we'll go there and find him." Edward tells her sternly, fully dressed. We head outside, everyone there except Jacob and Charlie. Nessie hops on to Edward's back, and we go bounding deeper and deeper into the woods, with Alice at the head.

"Alice, are we going towards the boundary line?" I ask her, scared out of my mind with the possibility.

"Yes, I think we're lucky that we probably don't have to worry about it anymore..." She tells me..

_I know what the means..._

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**A/N: Dun, dun, dun. Cliffie! I have so much more in store for this story! I feel pretty confident with it, although I'm having some problems finding a plausible resolution. I hope I live up to your expectations. Review and let me know what you think!**


	7. Crossing The Line

**Jacob's POV**

I don't like to be away from Nessie if I can help it. I was sitting at home, watching a baseball game with my father, yelling at the TV when I felt like I was starting to phase. In the living room. With my dad. That is _so _not happening. So I grabbed my back pack with a change of clothes and ran deep into the woods and threw the bag up into a tree.

I was running close to the boundary line out of habit when I saw him. I immediately went to back up, but I froze when I saw he had no intention of stopping anytime soon. He followed the mountain lion clear over the line, and I backed away while the _leech _sucked the lion dry. When he had finished and looked _full, _something about looking at his face made me phase. Which should be ludicrous, but I found myself thinking that this _vamp _was clueless in this affair. So when human thoughts returned to me, I found the vampire's name, Charlie.

I grab the clothes from my backpack, we're painfully close to my dad's house.

"Charlie?" I ask with my hands up, painfully aware that he had been hunting not even a minute ago. His dull orange eyes fell on mine, and I watched as he locked his hands behind his back and sat down rather clumsily. _He must be still working on his control. _

"Yeah?" He said quietly, holding his breath. I sat down too because it felt weird looking down on him.

"Do you realize what line you crossed?" I ask him, not remembering what Bella had told him specifically.

"Uhhhhhh... What?" He asks me, suddenly his eyes widen "you're not talking about the boundary line thing with the vampire/werewolf treaty, are you?" he asks hesitantly, his voice squeaking in nervousness. "Don't tell me the first time I go hunting by myself I mess up that bad..."

I shrug my shoulders, biting my lip and trying to figure out what I'm suppose to do, I mean, Charlie didn't know better, right?

"Dad!" We both hear from a distance, the sound of several pairs of almost-silent feet running quickly towards us. The Cullen's stop just before the line, and I see Nessie jump off Edward's back. She comes running to me, looking desperate.

"Jacob, he didn't know... C'mon, after all these years?" Nessie begs me as she draws nearer.

Charlie and I stand up, and he looks more relaxed now that he has the leeches as back up in case he jumps me by accident.

"How come Ness can cross the line? She still is kind of a vampire, right?" Charlie asks as she reaches me and squeezes me into a hug.

"I'm Jacob's imprint, so technically the fact that I'm a halfie is beat by that." Nessie says, and I can't help but smile at the proud sound of her voice, but my grin quickly fades when my eyes absorb the eight vampires biting their nails in the distance.

_What am I going to do? I can't hate Charlie, no matter if he's a vampire. Is there a newborn __exception? A loop hole? Something? _I think as my hand starts to sweat inside Nessie's.

"So it's possible that we can just walk away, no harm done?" Edward shouts at me. _Prying leech needs to learn what privacy is._ Edward scowls at me, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry _dog. _I'm just trying to assess the damage. So pardon me." Edward shouts at me. After all these years he still had the _nerve _to...

"Would you two stop it!" Nessie shouts at us, and right in my ear.

"Get over yourselves! After all these years I would think you guys would learn to _let it go." _Bella shouts, probably in Edward's ear. We both huff.

"Well Jake, who's to decide what will happen?" Carlisle asks me. I breath out, running my hands through my hair, beyond frustrated. Charlie is backing away, across the boundary line. All I do is stare at him with my hands in my hair, making no move to stop him. It would be pointless. They didn't do this on purpose, and Charlie didn't know _where _the line was.

Charlie is with them, and I haven't moved an inch.

"Nessie!" Bella calls, eyeing her down with her hands on her hips.

"Mom..." Ness whines, tightening her grip on my hand.

"Now, Nessie." Bella says sternly. She's a good mother.

Nessie huffs, kisses me on the cheek and trudging back to her parents. I wait until all of them are out of my sight, and I walk back to my dad's house.

**Bella's POV **

After, we talk to Charlie about the specifics of the boundary line to prevent future mistakes. We also instruct to ask before hunting.

"How is it that I look like the oldest out of all of us and I'm still getting bossed around by my daughter?" Charlie asks.

"It's a matter of experience." Carlisle tells him, slapping him on the back with a wide grin on his face. Just like that, the tension disappears as we walk home.

* * *

**A/N: Please be truthful! How was it? Too painful? Please tell me! More ahead kiddies, don't fret! ;-) Yes, I know this chapter was short, but it Lind of was how it had to work out. Again, sorry. **


	8. Unexpected Company

**Bella's POV**

"Oh my gosh!" Alice exclaimed as her eyes gained their focus, after having a shocking vision apparently. Everyone tensed, and she rushed to assure everyone, "no, no! It's fine, that was just.. very shocking..." she whispered out, she was hardly breathing. Her face soon broke into a grin as she had another more a reassuring vision.

"Tell us already, Alice!" I shouted, I couldn't take the silence!

"We're going to be visited by someone new..." She said mysteriously, I was ready to shake the answer out of her.

"Good-new, right? Human or vampire? Girl or boy?" I ask her, Edward was just looking annoyed, one of those she's-singing-Britney-Spears-in-her-head-again looks.

"Good and a vampire, but that's all I'm saying." She told us, winking at Charlie for some baffling reason.

"Alice, really?" Nessie asked from Jacob's lap. Alice just smiled.

"She'll be coming back with Carlisle and Esme in exactly 5.7 seconds." She informed us, grinning cheekily. _She?! _

**Edward's POV**

_That's a lot of self-loathing... _I heard Jasper think as he visibly winced as our frumpled guest walked in. Her thoughts were truly painful to hear. She was practically yelling at herself. She believed she was a monster, although she had guessed she might be a vampire, she thought a vampire was almost worse than everything hiding under children's beds combined. As soon as she got out of her newborn phase, she was left to fend for herself.

"What's your name?" Carlisle asked gently, Esme trying to comfort her by hugging her, the women was too unused to affection that she just shrugged her off. My_ name had once been Katherine, though I can't remember my last name... _She thought briefly in between her self deprecating rants and her sweet remarks about my family.

"It's Katherine." I told Carlisle, but I realized my mistake only after. Her eyes widened at me, her instincts telling her to chose between fight and flight, I knew she would choose flight so I instantly felt guilty.

_Edward! Don't scare her! She already is extremely fragile as it is! _Jasper chastised me, as I found my guilt increase. Stupid empath, he needed to stop doing that.

The pity I felt in everyone's thoughts was overwhelming, she looked so miserable, and Jasper was nearly on the floor in overload. What surprised me the most was Charlie's thoughts...

**Bella's POV**

I walked closer to Katherine slowly, I didn't know what to make of her, though I knew she couldn't be bad from Alice's vision, and everything inside me was screaming to help her. I splayed my hands, smiling pleasantly as Katherine nervously gazed into my eyes, she looked like a lost lamb.

"Hello Katherine, my name's Bella." I told her, she looked at me quizzically for a second, like she didn't understand the concept of a name.

"Your eyes, they're brown... Everyone's are..." She said, looking around the room at our confused family. No one knew what to make of her. Her eyes settled on Charlie, the older-looking of all of us, his eyes a dull orange. "What makes you different?" She asked softly, hugging herself like she couldn't seem to keep herself together.

My father cleared his throat, "I found about the family being vampires much before my daughter, Bella did." He told her, his head nodding towards me.

"You both were once human while this family were vampires?" she asked curiously, this Katherine was perceptive. Charlie slowly nodded.

"Katherine, as I've told you before, we're vegetarians, remember?" Carlisle asked softly, Katherine nodded faintly in response.

"There's quite a story here, isn't there?" She asked, suddenly her head snapped to the door. Nessie and Jacob were getting out of the car in the driveway, Nessie's heart fluttering like normal. Just like that, Emmet had Katherine pinned down with Carlisle kneeling over her. She was blinking up at them, her red eyes blazing but her jaw locked.

She wasn't thrashing around, in fact she was whimpering and looking disappointed. Nessie and Jacob walked through the door, Edward and I pouncing on Nessie, not allowing her to take another step forward. Both Nessie and Jacob's eyes fell on Katherine on the floor.

She looked more relaxed, like she could handle it, I didn't know where her strength was coming from. "You really are a unique family." She told as she saw Jacob and Nessie holding hands, Edward and I protecting Nessie. Everyone with Katherine in the living room clearly loved one another, it was obvious. Katherine inhaled again, though she didn't need to.

That was her mistake, she started thrashing now, her eyes getting darker. Edward and I whisked Jacob and Nessie away, we could hear Emmet picking Katherine up, Jasper trying to get her to calm down as they ran through the backyard. Esme ran behind them, worried, she was already instantly good friends with Katherine.

**Jasper's POV**

It was the most amazing thing. Before Nessie and Jacob had arrived, Katherine had felt guilty looking at us, or our eyes specifically. She seemed to be alone, so I assumed that she never learned too much control, so seeing our golden eyes would make her feel almost inferior. She quickly shifted from strong guilt to wicked self-loathing.

The feelings were so strong, I had an inkling of an idea that she had been hating herself for quite some time. Her feelings over powered me so much that I started criticizing my southern accent in my head, of all things...

When she saw, or rather smelled, Nessie and Jacob, I could feel the blood lust. I could feel it from Charlie too, though other jumbled emotions mostly crowded it out. Well, for him, they were jumbled, to me, they were crystal clear. Of all things.

Katherine's blood lust wasn't as strong as her feelings of hate directed towards herself. She was almost able to remain in control because she would feel like such a monster if she ever hurt the two. It was truly amazing.

When her curiosity got the best of her, so did her habit to breath, and that was only thing that was needed to forget everything but the burning in her throat.

**Bella's POV**

"Mom, who was that?" Nessie asked me as I shoved her her clothes, Edward and I were going to drive her and Jacob all the way to the boundary line. "I just got to see grandpa again!" Nessie whined, and I found it in me to smile a half-smile at that.

"Nessie, Carlisle and Esme found a vampire nomad named Katherine in the woods." Edward informed her, he looked so tense in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, so are we like, going to take care of her, dad?"

"I'm no Alice, but I have a feeling none of us would just dump her on the streets." I told my daughter, meeting her eyes in the rear view mirror. I saw her nod her head her eyebrows furrowing. I felt the same way, I had no idea how to react to this seemingly helpless middle-aged vampire.

I watched as Jacob's arm around Nessie tightened, Edward rolling his eyes at his thoughts apparently.

"You really think I'm going to let any harm fall upon my daughter?" Edward snapped at Jacob, his arms crossed, scowling. I reached for his hand to try and get him to calm down.

Jacob let out a sigh, "I know Edward, I just can't help but feel protective." My eyebrows went up a little bit. _Jacob stopping an argument between him and Edward, like an adult, no less? _

"I'm not five anymore!" Nessie whined, rolling her eyes and trying to shrug out of Jacob's embrace. We arrived, Nessie jogging to the driver's seat as Edward and I climbed out. Just before she climbed inside, she looked back at us with a troubled expression.

"This is no big deal, right? Just a vampire we're helping out?" Nessie asks, chewing on her lip nervously. _I bet she got that from me. _

"Sweety, you'll be fine. We just want you safe. And Jacob?" Edward called as Jake turned his head from inside the car. "Don't try anything with my daughter, Billy will keep an eye on you both." Jacob scowled and rolled his eyes dismissively.

"Dad, mom, _we get it._" Renesmee complained, her hands on her hips before she climbed into the car. I watched them drive off, knowing that I wouldn't have to worry about Nessie getting hurt when she was with Jake, only _corrupted. _I sighed before running back with Edward.

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**A/N: Strap in, because I got some ideas and I'm feeling mischievous. Don't worry, it's confusing in a good way, I hope. I'm just so glad I'm getting readers! I feel honored! **


	9. Family Meeting Repercussions

**Edward's POV**

"Why the guilt, you can't possibly miss Bella that badly." Jasper asked me as he, Alice, and I met in a clearing in between mountain lions.

I shrugged. "Katherine just seems so lost..." I trail off, thinking of my wife, Bella, with her because she felt so bad.

Jasper nods his head as he takes on a solemn expression. "Did you get any... weird thoughts coming from Charlie regarding Katherine?" Jasper asked me. I nodded, I felt like I was going a little crazy when I heard Charlie's persistent train of thought.

"I know something about that..." Alice breezed out suggestively, and I felt so relieved because those annoying pop songs were starting to get on my nerves.

Alice revealed her vision to me, and what I saw confirmed what I heard in Charlie's thoughts.

"We should probably keep this to ourselves." Jasper said wisely.

Alice nodded, " I wouldn't want to mess with the future or invade their privacy or anything." Alice remarked. "So no telling Bella, Eddie." Jasper wrapped his arm around her waist as she smiled smugly at me, I scowled. I hate that nickname.

This would be so much easier if it just didn't happen.

I was happy for the guy of course, and to know someone as lost as Katherine would, we'll it's just... My thoughts were interrupted as we all heard Charlie in the distance, and the three of us discontinued our conversation. I was done hunting, anxious to get back to Bella.

**Bella's POV**

Esme and I decided not to hunt, we had both done so recently, and neither of us felt comfortable leaving Katherine. She would sulk around with no purpose, all while being unbearably sweet and insisting that we stop 'fussing over her'.

She was just so unused to affection, even though she seemed to have at least thirty years as a human, judging by her appearance. She had long blonde hair, snarly from neglect. Esme and I never stopped smiling, always trying to reassure her. We had finally gotten her a change of clothes from Esme's wardrobe, letting her brush her hair and such.

Esme and I pampered her, answering all of her questions about our family. She absorbed everything with an attentive concentration, like her life depended on knowing all of our back stories.

Every time we mentioned Nessie, which was a lot because she _is _our daughter and granddaughter, Katherine would look pained and would apologize profusely. Even after Esme and I assured her a million times that she was fine, the grimace was always present.

"I'm just wondering, how long have you been a vampire?" Esme asked in a friendly tone, like they were two moms gossiping at the hair dresser's. Katherine looked startled, taking in a shaky breath. She was so sensitive of the fact of her being a vampire, she had been on her own and wondering for so long.

"I think I was changed maybe fifty years ago, time doesn't have much meaning to me," she mumbled out, I was never more glad for my vampire hearing. I was struggling to keep a straight face, she had bright orange eyes, with only the slightest rim of topaz, and she was a fifty year old vampire. The pity overwhelmed me, she clearly despises herself. I couldn't imagine what she went through. An awkward silence filled the room Emse and I rushing to tell Katherine that we respected her and understood. She only looked more pained.

To my relief, I heard Jasper, Alice, Edward, and Charlie running through the back door, Rosalie and Emmet close behind, Carlisle had went back to work after seeing Katherine.

Esme, Katherine, and I were in Carlisle's study, in the middle of giving Katherine the 'grand tour'. We all subconsciously gathered in the living room, Katherine feeling extremely awkward when she couldn't find a seat.

Edward hugged me, his whole body tense as he glanced at Katherine uneasily, I could tell he was worried by her thoughts. Strangely, he seemed worried _about_ her and not worried _because _of her. Even more odd, he kept stealing glances at my father.

My father was almost staring at Katherine, and I tried to read the emotion in his persistent gaze. Like always, he was distant, but that's just how we were. We aren't 'let's have mushy conversations' types of people.

The thick silence was permeated by Alice who squeaked "Carlisle," to all of our relief. Carlisle quickly parked, and I could tell by his slouch that he was emotionally drained. If he had needed sleep, he would have prominent bags under his eyes, threatening to collapse from exhaustion at any minute. Carlisle worked too much, but it's truly a beautiful thing he tries to do. I felt immense sadness when I realized this was his last day. That hardly seemed important.

Carlisle wise eyes swept across the room, noting our tense and awkward expressions. His gaze turned to Katherine, and she practically shrank, looking at Carlisle meekly.

"Katherine, would you mind going to the new room Bella and Esme no doubt already got you?" Carlisle asked sweetly, with all the Cullen charm as he smiled friendly at cowering Katherine. She shot up the stairs, like he had yelled at her instead of asking her nicely. Carlisle only frowned slightly, taking his spot next to Esme. He kissed her gently on the cheek as he looked at all of us, his expression somber.

"I think it's time to make a group decision about... Katherine." Carlisle told us. I couldn't stand this.

I jumped out of Edward's embrace, fuming, "what is there to ponder over? She's completely harmless not even one of us could stand kicking her to the curb. There's only one answer!" I was fuming, the only thing keeping me from raising my voice was the fact of Katherine's sensitive hearing and her close proximity.

"Bella, that may be true, but we all have our right to our opinion, and there are still many ways to go about this." Carlisle reprimanded me, his voice the one he used whenever he was trying to be the stern father. "Please sit down, Bella." he asked me quietly. The fight went out of me as I sat down, my eyes cast to the floor in embarrassment.

The meeting was calm and everyone had agreed that Katherine could stay as long as she wanted. When Alice voted, she was bouncing around. Finally, Carlisle's eyes settled on Charlie as he was the only one left to vote.

"Charlie, what will it be?" Carlisle asked gently. He looked up, surprised.

"I-I'm... not even a Cullen... and?" He spluttered, looking shocked and grateful.

Esme's smile was sweet, "your Bella's father, that makes you family. No matter your last name."

My father nodded and spoke quietly, "Katherine seems so lost, and all I want to do is make it better. Any way I can." He told us, as his eyes looked up, wide with sincerity. I saw Jasper hugging Alice, he was gasping. He stole glances at my father, was his guilt really that overwhelming? I already felt like Charlie would be so protective of Katherine.

I smiled, "Can I tell her?" I asked in a louder tone, no need to speak in whispers anymore! Carlisle shrugged, chuckling as I dragged Esme up the stairs.

"Goodness, Bella. You can't be that excited!" She laughed, her face bright and open as we neared Katherine's room.

"I'm just so glad to be able to save someone like this, and then have them stay with the family, no less!" I told her excitedly. We both rushed in, anxious to see Katherine and see if we could squeeze a smile out of her.

To our dismay, the room was empty and the window was open, with the curtains flapping in the wind. We both froze, horrified.

"NO! Her future looked so perfect! She was undecided until the last second!" We both heard Alice boom as everyone ran silently upstairs.

We all stood as still as statues, staring at the window and feeling desperate. What if something happens to her? To lose her just after we let her into our hearts? Impossible! Horrible! Suddenly, Charlie, my very own father, shot across the room. I caught a glimpse of panic and anguish written all over his face. Could it be that he cared that deeply about Katherine? Bearly knowing her? Alice saw it a second before it happened, distraught as she flashed out her arm to try and catch him any way she could.

My father was the newborn, and Alice's fingers only brushed his arm before he jumped out the window. He ran straight into the woods, without a moment's hesitation. I squeaked out a breath, shell shocked.

"Katherine? _Dad?_"

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**A/N: Yes, yes I'm evil. SO SORRY THIS WAS SO SHORT! I plan on updating very soon, so I hope the next chapter makes up for the length of this one. Also, I'd love some opinions on where the Cullens should move, it's Carlisle's last day, after all. REVIEW PLEASE!**


	10. Desperate Plea

**Alice's POV**

Katherine disappears from my sight, the absence almost familiar with all the times Jacob spends with Nessie. Charlie is still clear.

Edward's eyes widen as he snaps his head up to meet my gaze.

"Alice?" Bella asked hesitantly, I give her a small smile. She gets freaked out so easily.

"Katherine's future just disappeared, I'm worried she's going do the same thing Charlie did and ruin treaty. We'd have no leeway, Jacob wouldn't know her or sympathize her. Charlie would jump to her defense in a heart beat." My voice got more and more frantic, we were soon all outside.

"Charlie is already ready to protect her like that?" Bella asks me, I sigh as I glance up, Edward shrugs and Jasper spreads his hands. Jasper's right, there isn't anything we can do to prolong telling everyone any longer. Charlie and Katherine still won't know.

"There's something we haven't been telling you guys," my eyes skim around, finally settling on Bella's nervous face. I take a deep breath.

**Charlie's POV**

The fear I have is almost unexplainable, it clenches my gut and makes me want to jump off something, something high. My chest feels like it's going through a meat grinder, and while I feel that ever present hollow and cold feeling, I can't help but feel more alive than I had ever been as a vampire. Even when my beautiful daughter smiled at me, knowing she would be my baby girl forever, and even including those rare, precious, moments with my granddaughter where her half-scent is in the background and her laugh is all I hear, I've never felt anything with my vampire senses as strong as this.

Even as fear grips me in its cold clutches, I can't help but revel in the fact of my feelings that have _intensity _for once. All because of _Katherine, _the name itself sounding so inviting. When she first came through the door with Carlisle and Esme, I looked at her like the most intriguing onion on the planet. Layered. She was guarded, fretful, and extremely delicate. Everything about her screamed unstable, and I wanted to be her granite pillars.

I ran faster than I had ever dared to run before, the boundary line in the back of my head, worried Katherine would cross it. I can't let her make the same mistake I did. That fact seems trivial when I think that she could be running away, that I could never see her again. My stomach churns again as I push onward, finally catching a glimpse of her swaying brown hair through the trees.

When she looked back over her shoulder, I put my hands up, "I'm not going to hurt you," none the less, she moved quicker as we ran closer and closer to the boundary.

"Katherine! Are you running away from something? Are you running away from a whole entire family who are welcoming you with open arms?" I shout to her, I needed to do something bold in order to get her to stop. I'd rather have her mad at me than running away from me, running towards danger. She spun around, but the look on her face was not the one I was expecting.

I thought I would be met with crippling rage, but instead, I find myself looking in the face of a women whose so confused she can't find the sky anymore.

I walk closer to her, my arms at my sides, talking in a soothing tone like I'm trying to calm a spooked horse. Katherine doesn't look the slightest bit tense, sliding to the ground, her eyes looking at nothing in particular.

"I don't want to go back to the way I was. Not after seeing what I could have, a whole family filled with love." she whimpers as she hugs herself, and I crouch to her level in front of her.

"You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. Move on, stay with us, it's up to you. I'm begging you to see that you would be safe with us. We would never leave you."

**Third Person POV**

Alice stopped abruptly in her tracks, her stylish heels digging into the dirt and tearing up tree roots as she forced herself to stop instantly. A smile stretches across her face as the vision passes.

"Alice?" Bella asks, bewildered.

"Their fine. Charlie's got her. Their futures are back, and their good," a relieved sigh escaping everyone. They stop in the forest, unsure of what to do, finally deciding to disperse and hunt.

**Katherine's POV**

He speaks in gentle tones, and his comforting presence makes my heart flutter with warmth. He draws warmth into my cold body, and the way he looks at me, I can almost imagine myself as beautiful, and innocent. The blood on my hands isn't as bright now. The smile I wear is a little wider, a little more loose.

"What's your name?" I ask him, mid worried sentence. He smiles at me, looking grateful that I wasn't a mess on the forest floor. He made everything stay together, tightly.

"It's Charlie, Charlie Swan. Bella's father." I nod at the man, hearing Esme and Bella in my mind as they spend an hour or two exploding my mind with the whole family's chaotic history. He smiles at me, and I'm surprised at how natural the answering smile is to me.

"Would you like to go back?" he asks me, his hand outstretched as he stands up in front of me. I nod my head before catching a whiff of something on the wind. _Mouth watering. _

I'm off in a flash, everything forgotten but the insatiable, untamable burn. Raw and relentless. The guilt is familiar, but the pair of eyes burning into the back of my head as I selfishly suck a bobcat dry is new. I wait until I'm composed, turning my self around with my head bowed.

"I'm sorry. That was rude of me," I admonish, desperate for Charlie to like me. Now he thinks I'm a beast.

"It's fine, they only reason I didn't pounce on it was because, _you know, _'ladies first' and all. You look beautiful when you hunt, and powerful. There's nothing to be ashamed of." I hear him chuckling, the sound like beautiful music to my ears, I look up, and the smile is too much, and yet not enough.

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**A/N: I UPDATED MY SUMMARY AND FIRST CHAPTER a bit, I always manage to branch away from my main idea and then the summary (and usually the tittle) don't fit the story anymore. SAME TITTLE though.**


	11. Moving is a Part of Life

**Katherine's POV**

"Dad," the girl named Bella shouts, sounding exasperated. The man named Charlie automatically puts his hands up, grinning sheepishly at the storming vampire with her hands on her hips.

Edward, who I know only because Bella wouldn't stop talk about him when he had gone hunting and she stayed behind, tried to put his arms around her waist, trying to calm her down. Even as she brushes him off, I can tell how different they are then the vampire couples around them.

Bella hadn't felt comfortable saying so much about her human life, so Esme told me what she knew. Edward and Bella never lose the connection of even a look, always subconsciously inseparable like they were joined at the hip all this time and they only now got separated and they're not use to it. They have that kind of desperately caring love that doesn't seem to ever fade.

Something deep inside me aches when I look at them holding each other, at all of the happy pairs smiling at me. I didn't know I could feel like that anymore, not after all that I've been through. I thought there was no room for human emotions anymore.

Edward's head lifts from Bella's hair, and his smile is sympathetic. My mind flashes to the short conversation about vampire powers, and I panic. _I don't need someone reading my thoughts, _I think as I watch Edward lower his head.

I see Charlie sneaking past everyone while they're all distracted by me, but Bella won't have it.

"Charlie, don't you dare try to escape," Bella thunders as she tears out of Edward's stubborn grasp. She arrives in front of Charlie, looking upset.

"What were you thinking, running off like that? I don't blame you for trying to help Katherine, but really, did you really have to do it alone?" She chokes out, hugging herself and shooting daggers at Charlie through her topaz eyes.

"He had to go alone, Bella. It wouldn't have worked any other way. I already told you this." A short girl with short hair speaks up, but the expression on her face is anything but timid. This must me Alice, the vampire who has visions and can see the future.

I gnaw my lip, this really is too much to take in. I feel like running again. I sit down wearily right where I'm standing, the concrete of the deck seeming so inviting. Everyone's eyes flash to me, and Bella's worried anger is forgotten.

"Katherine?" Esme crouches down next to me, her eyes so sincere I feel guilty. How can I waltz into these people's lives, there's no room for me. The only person that isn't clearly infatuated with someone is Charlie. Even Bella's daughter has that smelly boy.

I curl up into my customary ball of pain, not caring about the hard ground or the soft voices that tell me that I'm okay. I'm not okay, I'm a monster, and I don't deserve this beautiful family I happened upon.

**Charlie's POV**

Katherine's shivers are sad to the point of pain, and I'm overwhelmed with the need to scoop her up into my arms to make it better.

"She feels like she's not good enough for us," Edward whispers to me, his forehead creased.

I laugh as I trade places with Esme, kneeling by this beautifully naïve girl's head. Katherine peeks out of her hair, curiosity encouraging her to see why I was laughing.

"Silly Katherine, you're perfect for us," _for me. _I'm cooing to her, and I never though I'd be so affectionate towards someone, I don't even get mushy with my own daughter. Well, not really. Yet here I am, whispering assurances in this women's ear just because I want her to feel better, and see herself more clearly.

She's not my charity case, and I don't think she ever was. Eventually, I have her smiling and laughing at my corny jokes, and we sit together on the patio. Everyone has disappeared inside, giving us privacy.

She blinks up at me shyly, and my grin has never been more goofy.

**Edward's POV**

I move the shade back, feeling guilty about spying on them, and I can't even give them real privacy, not with their minds open like they are. I block them out and Bella circles his hands around my waist.

She presses a kiss to my shoulder, "how are they?"

"She's Charlie's Bella,"

I turn around in her arms, kissing her forehead and finding her rolling her eyes dramatically. I sit with her on the bed. I smile at my wife, they really are doing good.

"Katherine's taking in a lot, but Charlie is just so caring. Katherine is so grateful of him, and she can't understand why she feels so happy when she's with him," I laugh again. Bella's face drops, and I can tell she's missing our personal sun.

"Call Nessie?" Her voice is high and pleading, like she needed to convince me to talk to my adorable daughter.

"Deer-Carcases-R-Us, you drain 'em we sell 'em," Bella and I both laugh.

"We also just got in a recent shipment of bobcats," Nessie continues in a high-pitched sales voice, and Bella and I are rolling around on the floor with laughter.

"What is so funny, you can't even see me to laugh at me," well I certainly think _someone_ inherited their mother's snarkiness.

"Ok, in all seriousness. I have a question." Bella and I manage to swallow our laughs and sound somewhat serious.

"Sure sweety."

"Of course, go ahead." Nessie takes a deep, hesitant breath at my prompt.

"Why did Carlisle not go into work today, and why did I see him throw out his beeper? Grandpa's not quitting, is he?" Her voice got higher and higher as she spoke, so at the end she sounded like a toddler again. It broke my heart.

"He's not _quitting, _we're..." Bella gnaws at her lip.

"She knows it was going to happen someday," I whisper, rubbing Bella's arm and trying to calm her.

Bella nods, "we're... Honey we're moving." It hangs in the air, and our daughter's sharp intakes of breath are painfully echoing in my ears.

"What?" She whispers brokenly.

"What?!" Jacob shouts. Bella and I both cringe. This is going to be difficult.

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**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm throwing out a book suggestion here, it's been previously mentioned in my Percy Jackson story, Immortality as well as my other PJ story, The Battle of Light and Dark. STUNG BY BETHANY WIGGINS is a book I highly recommended, two out of my three closest friends have read it, and they both loved it (and so did I, obviously) I've just learned that there's a sequel called CURED BY BETHANY WIGGINS so I'm super excited about that. Neither book as a place on this website, and I'm hoping me and you (you, yes you, my fellow reader) can change that.**

**A/N#2: I did this chapter in only a half hour after starting it! That's saying something for me. **


	12. It's Not What You Think

**A/N: I'm so sorry, guys. I kind of had an unannounced Hiatus, I went to my Camp without WiFi one weekend, had a garage sale another, and got swamped with school work during the week. Enough with silly excuses. I'm sorry, and I'm back with a vengeance. Miss me? Mwha ha ha ha ha! Jk.**

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**Nessie's POV**

I can't believe I can be so stupid! I knew this was coming, why I'm freaking out is beyond me. I look over to see Jacob in the middle of insane panic mode. I don't want to be away from him, I can't. He can't. We won't survive.

"Mom! Dad! You can't do this to me! I don't want to move! I can't be away from Jacob!" My voice is getting higher and higher. Has this ever happened before? Parents separating imprints?  
"Relax, honey," my mom tries to reassure me.

"It's for the best." Dad? He doesn't mean this is actually going to happen, does he?  
The phone is ripped from my hands, and I see a flash of Jake's red face and flared nostrils before he speed walks out the door and on to the deck. The sky is gloomy and overcast, the clouds roll on as I bite my nails.

We could be playing baseball right now, but I guess everything is too busy and crazy for Alice to think about stuff like that. I still wish we could have shown Katherine, she seemed so controlled and nice when I met her. No vampire who eats human blood can last that long around me.

I sigh, watching Jacob pacing the deck, flailing his hands. I can see his locked jaw from here. All at once, he whips around to meet my eyes, freezing dramatically, halfway through another frantic step. I look at his face, and pure terror cuts across his shadowed features.

**Bella's POV**

I don't know what Edward is thinking. He knows they would both freak out. It isn't like we're moving far.

"Jacob, you're a wolf, you can run plenty fast enough to see Ness. It'll just take a _little_ bit longer." The way Edward said 'little' made me believe it wasn't so little. Which isn't true, right?  
Adding to my confusion, I hear a light, panicked pitter-patter racing towards our little house, Alice.

She barges in without knocking, like usual. The ferocity on the pixie-like face would make grown men cry, Edward blanched when his eyes snapped to her. His eyes wide, he seemed genuinely frightened after reading darling Alice's thoughts.

"Can someone explain to me why I got a vision of us moving to Alaska?!"

"What?!" Jacob's voice was clear as lake water through the phone, his voice cracking violently.  
Alice and I both stare at a slumped Edward. So this is why he was acting so weird. Edward meets my gaze, my eyes narrowing at him as I stand up to put my hands on my hips.

"Edward," my voice sounds restrained, "why would you want this?" The guilt in his eyes tells me everything I need to know. Edward knows Jacob can't leave his pack, and if he moved to Alaska, that's exactly what Jacob would have to do. You can't be separated from your imprint.

I open my mind up to him, I can barely speak to him.

"I'm sorry." He mutters.

"Alaska?" Nessie's voice sounds broken and fragile, and I can faintly hear Jacob whispering 'no, no, no' over and over again.

"Tell her, Edward." Trying to sew up his daughter's heart is enough punishment. I guess he'll sleep on the couch, too. Just in case. He looks so defeated as he bows his head. I shoo Alice out, surprised to find Carlisle and Esme in the small living room, looking confused.

I shake my head, "Edward's just being Edward." They both nod, sitting on the couch. We can all here Edward slowly talking to a faintly crying Nessie. I sigh, I can't listen to this, it wasn't my fault. Why Edward would ever think to do something like this is beyond me, honestly, this takes overprotective father to a whole new level.

**Edward's POV**

"Daddy?" God, I'm an idiot. She sounds like she's five again, or at least the physical age of five. Sometimes I just can't stand seeing Jacob with my daughter, on some level, he will always be the guy who wanted my girl. Now he wants my daughter, and sometimes Bella and Nessie's opinions disappear and all I can think about is how he can hurt them.

Countless times I've disregarded how happy he makes Nessie. "What, sweetheart?"She sniffles, and I feel like such a horrible I want to cry along with her.

"So we're not moving to Alaska?" Her voice warbles, high pitch and vulnerable.

"No, I'm sorry." I can hear Jacob's gasps for air slowing down to mild hyperventilation.

"Thank you," Jacob manages to huff out.

I shrug, "sure," I don't know why I ever thought of that.

"I mean Dad, an entire vampire family in Alaska with one halfie? I would freeze to death. I'd need at least four Jakes to warm me up." Ness still hiccups, but her attempt at a joke makes me feel so much better that I can give her a belly deep laugh.

"Can I go home? Where are we moving to? When? Dad?" Nessie and her rapid fire questions, I shake my head and laugh despite myself. Alice walks in, taking the phone from my grip so Nessie can hear her more clearly.

"Katherine needs to hunt exactly twice more before she's close to ready. Four more times if you bring Jacob. Now one ever taught her self-control." Ness grunts in response. "We're moving to a secluded house on the edge of Olympic Park." Alice informs Ness as Bella walks in the room.

"Beware, straggling hikers." We all laugh, even Esme and Carlisle in the other room. Nessie says goodbye, Esme, Carlisle, and Alice all head out. Alice grabs Jasper to go hunting while Esme and Carlisle head back to the house to check up on Charlie and Katherine.

Bella and I have only enough time to sit down on the couch for a few moments before Charlie and Katherine are knocking at our door. Bella opens the door, and I can see Katherine smiling shyly as Charlie leads her into the room with a gracious swoop of his arm.

It's clear from Charlie's thoughts that he adores this certain vampire, he barely says hi to Bella before urgently asking her if he can give Katherine a 'grand tour' to our 'humble abode' Bella shrugs, stepping aside.

Katherine is still indecisive about staying with us, feeling pushy and a nuisance. Katherine is everything but a bother. Charlie casually steers her through the house with an arm draped on her shoulder. Katherine is a stranger to touch, and Charlie is relishing in her sweet smiles.  
Bella and I quietly leave to go hunt, I quickly instruct Charlie and Katherine to join us when they're done.

**Katherine's POV**

Charlie seems to be the epitome of a gentlemen, polite and charming in every aspect as his eyes sparkle in the dim light. I hardly think about my crimes when he jokes with me, keeping up a light banter that's mostly one-sided. He doesn't seem to mind when I only give short answers. I still feel too fragile to say anything. Too unsteady on my feet.

Reluctantly, we both agree to go hunting. In truth, I can't wait to see darling Renesmee. Her situation is almost fascinating. We hunt together, and I feel a little bit better this time. A little less guilt-ridden, I take down three deer.

The pixie, Alice, and the 'military man', Jasper run into us, Alice looking excited.

**Charlie's POV**

Alice bursts in front of us, shouting, "I have to take you shopping!"

"Both of us?" I squeak out, remembering horror stories of Bella Barbie nights where Bella would fall into bed the next day and snore like a freight train it was so exhausting, or so she says.

"Common, Charlie, I promise it's fun!"

"Alice, Bella thinks it's annoying. Who do you think she got that trait from? Besides, I'm a forever forty-year-old man, I don't want to go shopping." The poor girl looks defeated, and she seems resigned, she must have seen my decision in the future.

"Katherine? Would you like to go?" Alice chirps, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Katherine shyly looks down at her shoes, "I'll be too much trouble," she tells the ground as her hair falls like a curtain over her face.

Jasper smiles at Katherine, "she's excited, I think she wants to go, she just feels guilty."

Katherine looks up in amazement, "it must be pretty cool to be an empath..."

Jasper just shrugs as Alice squeals. I may want to protect Katherine from everything, but I will not step foot in to a mall, even at gun point. A gun can't hurt me now. Cue smirk.

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**A/N: Alice and Katherine as well as Rosalie and Charlie bonding time up next! The move looms in the distance! I'm back!**


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